


When The Darkness Creeps In, I Feel My Nightmares Watching Me

by destielsdessert



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Nightmares, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 23:51:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15762288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destielsdessert/pseuds/destielsdessert
Summary: The one where Ian wakes Mickey up with a nightmare and is reluctant to talk about it.





	When The Darkness Creeps In, I Feel My Nightmares Watching Me

Mickey wakes to a whimper, one that he's sure didn't come from him. He groans, not really processing the sound apart from the fact that it's interrupting his sleep and turns to face away from Ian, ready to quickly fall back into his peaceful slumber.

He's just drifting off when the sound happens again and Mickey peeks a frustrated eye open. He sighs heavily and glances over his shoulder, for some reason expecting Ian to be awake because he still hasn't processed the nature of these sounds, and finds that Ian is still asleep. Mickey rolls back over to face Ian, ready to push the boy off the bed if he doesn't _shut up_.

But Mickey notices, through the dim light of the room, that Ian's face is contorted into one of pain, fear, and he sits up abruptly. "Ian?" he whispers, brow furrowing ar the look on Ian's face.

Ian doesn't react but his body twists, hands clenching into fists as he yelps this time and Mickey flinches harshly at the sound. "Ian," he repeats with more force. He shuffles closer to Ian so he's hovering almost directly above him and brings his hands to Ian's shoulders. "Hey, _wake up_."

Even in his sleep, Ian fights against Mickey's hands but Mickey keeps his hold tight. He shakes at Ian's shoulders as his heartbeat picks up in his chest, and he's slowly filling with panic which he's trying to push down. "Ian, wake the fuck up!"

Ian's eyes snap open with a loud gasp and everything freezes. Mickey holds his breath as Ian's eyes dart around the room before finally landing on Mickey, and they quickly fill with tears. "Shit," Mickey breathes and there are tears rolling down the sides of Ian's face.

Ian lets out a small sob and Mickey's heart shatters. He dips his head down and presses a kiss to Ian's forehead. "You're okay," he promises but Ian doesn't stop crying. Mickey lies back down, facing Ian fully and he wraps his arms around Ian to pull him into his chest. Ian reacts immediately, clutching at Mickey's back and crying into his shoulder. "It was just a bad dream, sweetheart. You're okay now."

Ian's grip at Mickey's back is tight and his nails are definitely scratching at Mickey's bare skin but Mickey doesn't care, not when Ian is like this. He presses kisses to Ian's temple and he grips at the nape of Ian's neck where his hair is beginning to curl. He just holds because there's really not much else he can do, is there? He can't magically calm Ian down with a simple kiss, despite how much he wishes he could. "Nothin's gonna hurt you, okay? I'm here, I've got you."

They lie there for a long time, while Ian does his best to calm himself down and Mickey does his best to help him. His hands move to the small of Ian's back and the back of his neck and just below his ribs and everywhere they possibly can as Ian's crying slowly turns to light sniffling. Ian's grip on Mickey's back eventually loosens and Mickey lets himself breathe as Ian's tense muscles ease, finally.

"Sorry," Ian mumbles weakly as he pulls away from Mickey's grip. He lifts his hand to his face, rubbing at his eyes. "Fuck, I'm-"

"It's okay," Mickey promises but Ian shakes his head. Mickey reaches his hand across to Ian's, pulling it from Ian's eyes and gripping it tightly. "Hey, it was a nightmare. You can't help that." Ian rolls onto his back with a sigh. Mickey just stares; Ian still seems somewhat tense, even now, staring up at the ceiling with a small but focused frown. He debates whether or not he should bring it up, if maybe Ian just wants to go back to sleep. It's still dark out so there's plenty of time to get more sleep, but Ian's eyes are wide open. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No," Ian mutters, harsher than Mickey guesses he intended but he doesn't particularly care about that, not when he knows Ian doesn't really mean it.

Ian sits up to rest his back against the headboard, letting out a deep breath. He seems unsettles and Mickey wonders what the dream could've been about to make him react like this, to make it so difficult to shake off.

"Ian-" Mickey begins as he sits up, too, but Ian interrupts him.

"I said I don't wanna fucking talk about it."

Mickey rolls his eyes at Ian's annoyance, deciding to continue to ignore it. He's not going to force Ian to talk if he doesn't want to - Mickey isn't much of a talker himself - but he's not going to let him bottle it up just because he thinks that Mickey doesn't want to know. "Alright, keep your hair on." They're sitting shoulder-to-shoulder and Mickey watches Ian, who has now moved his gaze to his lap. "Although, if you _were_ wantin' to talk about it, I'd be okay with that."

Ian glances at Mickey, eyebrows knitted tightly together and Mickey waits for him to talk. "I know," Ian mumbles after a couple of moments. "But seriously, I don't really want to talk. Just need a little while to get it out of my system."

Mickey nods and wraps his arms around Ian's shoulders, pulling Ian's head onto his own shoulder. Even if Ian isn't going to talk, he's still going to do his best to comfort him because that dream clearly fucked him up. He doesn't need to know what it was about, just needs to know that Ian is okay now and that he did everything he could to help with that.

Ian tilts his head, pressing his nose into the juncture between Mickey's neck and shoulder. "Careful, Mick. People might start to think you actually care," he mocks, lips morphing into a small grin.

"Shut the fuck up, Gallagher," Mickey warns but his voice holds no venom, not like it probably should. He spares a quick look down at Ian's face, finding that his eyelids are beginning to droop and he smiles triumphantly. "You ready to sleep again?"

Ian hesitates but soon nods and Mickey lies back down, tugging on Ian's arm to pull him down, too. He stays on his back and lets Ian curl into his side, his head on Mickey's chest and he tangles their legs together. Ian lets out a shaky breath and Mickey moves his hand to link with Ian's and he intertwines their fingers.

"You'd better not fuckin' wake me up this time," Mickey grumbles. He wants to sound threatening but he can't muster up the energy, so he closes his eyes.

Ian just laughs briefly and squeezes Mickey's hand. "Sure thing, Mick."


End file.
